Happy Birthday Seto
by Krys Imeteri-Greenleaf
Summary: AU: Seto is feeling lousy on his birthday..but our favorite dueling puppy has something to say about that! RR(even though the title should be Happy belated birthday, I had to keep with tradition)


I reach into my school bag for my laptop before the first bell could ring. Time to check stocks again. Same..old..boring stocks.  
  
Only years of hard training prevented me from falling asleep...  
  
I don't know how other kids do it....

Though..I've been through a lot more than they have...

Wait..a lot is an understatment...

Running your own company since your childhood does have it's finer points...

Then there's the not so finer points...  
  
But I can get by...  
  
Though a lot of students I admire...  
  
Sleeping whenever they please..  
  
Eating pizza...  
  
Talking on hours end about basically...nothing  
  
Admire doesn't describe what I feel...  
  
More or less..envy...  
  
One in particular...though hardly any would find it believable...  
  
Jounouchi Katsuya

The one with his head on his desk asleep despite the aparrent drool on his desk and textbooks.  
  
The one that could eat whatever he wanted without feeling bad about the quality...

Or the quanitiy either..  
  
I sometimes wonder if he ever gets stomach aches from time to time because of that...  
  
No..I doubt he even notices...  
  
I take out my laptop, checking stocks and business e-mail.

More boring shit for my boring life...  
  
Mokuba sent me something though...  
  
Oh yeah....  
  
It's a birthday/halloween greeting

He always sends them to me around my birthday since it's so close to halloween.  
  
I'm so entuned that I failed to notice a certian drooling puppy over my shoulder.  
  
"You're birthday's today?" he said, his accent fully american though he is fully japanese.  
  
Then again..Americans have many dialects..so why should I care?  
  
"Yes," I reply in my usual cold tone, "Why do you care Katsuya?"  
  
He steps back a pace, clearly taken aback by my abruptness.  
  
"Sorry..." he replies, then goes back to his own seat.  
  
I mentally smacked myself. He's trying to be nice to you and you push him away. Idiot Kaiba...  
  
----------------------------------------

I ride home, alone as usual. It's a bad habit...  
  
When I get there though..Mokuba is waiting for me. Did he fake sick again?  
  
"Niisan!" he called in his naturaly high voice that a boy has before puberty, "Jounouchi brought me home!"  
  
"Katsuya brought you home?" I questioned, raising an eyebrow  
  
"And he also asked me to give this to you," he said, handing me a package, then hurrying inside.  
  
What would Katsuya give me that I couldn't already get?  
  
I walked into my room/study, carefuly examining the package. It was wrapped in brown paper, either really cheap or very quick....or both...and seemed soft..like a toy...  
  
When Mokuba went to bed, I opened the package finally to reveal a tattered, old, stuffed toy puppy. I could tell it was old because of the fixed holes and stitches here and there. I couldn't decide on what emotion I should react....  
  
Surprised that Katsuya got me a gift...  
  
Or angry that it was so cheap.....  
  
Then I found a note inside the wrapping and when I read it...I couldn't stop tears from forming.  
  
_Dear Kaiba,  
  
I know you probably hate my guts, but I just couldn't resist getting you a gift on your birthday. You always seem so alone and cold. I know why..but why do you still act so? I thought that maybe this would make you feel better. It was an old toy of mine I had when my sister was taken away some time ago. Her(yes a her) name is Sakura. She comforted me when my dad was drunk and abusive and with hard times. She was the greatest friend in the world to me.  
  
I heard once that if you have at least a friend, you can always die happy. I don't think you're going to die or anything...but you should have a friend. And dogs usually make the best companions.  
  
She isn't much..but I fixed her up for you...I hope you can appreciate her as much as I did. And if not..give her to Mokuba..I'm sure he'll love her to death...  
  
But..All I ask..is to be..a friend? Please?  
  
Jounouchi Katsuya  
  
P.S.-Happy Birthday! :)  
  
_No one could have written anything better to me...or could have parted me from that puppy toy.  
  
I held her close, then found a small cloth and wrapped it around her neck for warmth.  
  
Thank you..Jounouchi...  
  
------------------------------  
  
After a few months and a lot of begging and persuading...It was around early January...  
  
I held close the small box in hand as I saw a familiar blonde head walking down the street.  
  
Little did he know..I had the toy puppy hidden beneath my coat...and this little box was going to change our lives forever....


End file.
